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“Black Candle”: Thank You for Coming!
Tag: indian classical dance
“Black Candle” Coming June 3 – 5, 2022
We’re pleased to announce the upcoming revival of one of our classic repertory works, Black Candle. The new production is set to premiere at the Southern Theater June 3 – 5, 2022.
Based on the award-winning poetry of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Black Candle combines the elegant medium of Kathak dance with text and music to evoke female joy, love, pain and resilience. It pays tribute to the strength and tenacity shown by the women of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan in the face of adversity such as sexism, misogyny and repressive cultural norms.
In keeping with KDT’s artistic mission, Black Candle celebrates diverse perspectives and backgrounds while taking particular care to emphasize female empowerment. It is therefore strongly of-the-moment in its messaging and artistry. Although the show is technically a re-staging, it will feature new choreography by KDT’s award-winning Artistic Director, Rita Mustaphi, who calls Black Candle “a collection of stories of women’s journeys of loss, exploration, discovery and spiritual freedom through love.”
The show is based on Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s poetry collection of the same name. Like most of Divakaruni’s work, Black Candle recounts pivotal moments in the lives of South Asian and South Asian-American women of all ages and backgrounds. “I created Black Candle to document the lives of South Asian women around the world,” she says. “The poems cover many of the challenges women continue to face today that are often ignored by western society. I’m thrilled to see that my friend, Rita Mustaphi, is bringing these tales back to life, and is once again offering these stories to the Twin Cities community.”
The final performance will be accompanied by an ASL interpreter and a post-show discussion. Tickets on sale beginning May 9 at southerntheater.org.
Gen. admission: $25 ($20 in advance). Student and seniors (65+) with valid ID: $18.
Black Candle. June 3 – 5, 2022 at the Southern Theater, 1420 S. Washington Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55454.
Showtimes:
Friday, June 3 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 4 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 5 at 2 pm (ASL-interpreted; post-show discussion)
About Katha Dance Theatre
Katha Dance Theatre (KDT) creates, performs and educates through the art forms of dance, music, poetry and storytelling. Rooted in Kathak, the classical dance style of Northern India, KDT is dedicated to making dance accessible, inclusive and relevant. It enhances the local community by bridging diverse cultures and audiences to contribute to life’s infinite artistic expressions.
About Kathak Dance
Kathak (pronounced “Kah-tahk”) is an Indian classical dance tradition native to North India. Its origins can be traced back to as early as 400 BCE, when it began as a form of sharing stories, myths, and Hindu scripture in temples and royal courts. Characterized by both rhythmic and lyrical elements, it features graceful hand gestures, pirouettes, and complex footwork, performed with expressiveness and precision. Over the centuries, it has grown to incorporate diverse influences and viewpoints with KDT at the forefront of its artistic evolution.
About Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning Indian-American author, poet, and the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Writing at the University of Houston Creative Writing Program. Her short story collection Arranged Marriage won an American Book Award in 1995, and her novel Mistress of Spices was short-listed for the Orange Prize.
Divakaruni’s works are largely set in India and the United States, and often focus on the experiences of South Asian immigrants. Her themes include the Indian experience, contemporary America, women, immigration, history, myth, and the joys and challenges of living in a multicultural world. Her work has been published in magazines like The Atlantic and The New Yorker, included in over 50 anthologies, and translated into 29 languages, including Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi and Japanese.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. It is also made possible by general operating support from the RBC Foundation and the Archie D and Bertha H Walker Foundation, and by the generosity of KDT’s private donors.
Celebration of Pandit Birju Maharaj
Available now: On what would have been his 84th birthday, join us as we look back at the late Pandit Birju Maharaj’s unparalleled career and share how much he meant to us!
Please enjoy the event, which also celebrates Saraswati Puja and Basant Panchami––a festival honoring the arrival of Spring.
Watch on Vimeo through Feb. 6!
Katha Dance Theatre Reopening Policies
On September 11, 2021, we will reopen our St. Louis Park studio for in-person classes and rehearsals. We also plan to resume in-person performances in the coming months, starting with the premiere of Shaamya – Of Equality at the Park Square Theatre this November. While these are exciting steps forward, our top priority is to ensure everyone’s ongoing health and safety during the pandemic.
With that in mind, we will continue to follow the guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Minnesota Department of Health, which we acknowledge could change at any moment as the pandemic evolves. We are excited to be using a hybrid classroom set-up, allowing us to make all of our classes available both in-person and virtually (apart from classes taught by Rita Mustaphi, which are all virtual). Below are further details surrounding our reopening process this Fall:
Studio
As stated on our studio safety and student code of conduct page, we are requiring anyone who enters the studio to wear a mask at all times, regardless of one's vaccination status. Masks have been proven to be effective in lowering transmission of COVID-19, and we feel this is the best way to protect our community against the threat of the Delta variant. In addition to masking, we ask all who enter the studio to try as best they can to maintain a six-foot distance away from those around them.
Following the example of many other dance studios and theaters around the country, we are requiring all in-person students over the age of 12 to provide proof of vaccination before the start of the Fall session. Students under the age of 12 who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated (but as stated above, must wear a mask in-studio) and students learning via Zoom are exempt from this.
If a teacher or student is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and tests positive for the virus, or if they have been exposed to anyone who has tested positive, we ask that they immediately inform Mukta Sathe (School Manager, muktas.kathadancetheatre@gmail.com) and refrain from entering the studio for two weeks after the positive test. If there is a chance that any other teachers or class members were exposed, the class will move online for two weeks before returning to the studio.
In order to ensure our studio's safety, we have added a state-of-the-art air purifying system to our HVAC. The iWave C Air Ionization System reduces the flow of particles in the air, helping to stop the spread of certain viruses and bacteria. Read more about it here.
KDT's teaching staff will thoroughly sanitize doorknobs and any other frequently touched surfaces before and after each class. There will also be a bottle of hand sanitizer in the studio that we will require everyone to use before and after each class.
Hybrid Learning Policy: All classes this session will follow a hybrid learning model, meaning that students will have the option of learning in person or on Zoom. Each student's preferred learning model must be shared upon registration, with the knowledge that changing CDC guidelines or a rise in cases could move all classes to Zoom at any time. We have upgraded our studio technology to include a television equipped with an HDMI plug-in that will broadcast Zoom learners into the classroom, visible and audible to all in-person participants.
Performances/Outreach
We will work with every presenter to follow individual venues' policies regarding mask-wearing and social distancing. However, we will insist that all audience members at our performances and outreach programs keep their distance from those outside of their group and wear a mask at all times within the venue.
Again, we will work to follow each venue's specific vaccination policy, but we will require all audience members at our performances and outreach programs to either show proof of prior vaccination (with the last dose having been administered at least two weeks beforehand) or proof of a negative COVID-19 test at least 48 hours before attending.
If you would like to sign up to be vaccinated against COVID-19, please do so here.
If you would like to schedule a COVID-19 test, please do so here.
Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions you may have regarding these policies or any of the measures we are taking to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Ganga to Mississippi – A Confluence of Waters
World Premiere Work-in-Progress Performance
June 25 – 27 on Vimeo
We’re pleased to announce the work-in-progress premiere of an exciting new performance concept two years in the making!
Ganga to Mississippi – A Confluence of Waters is an original dance work that juxtaposes the roles of the Ganges and Mississippi rivers in their respective environments. Spanning continents and cultural traditions, Ganga uses Kathak dance and spoken word elements to highlight the important role that rivers play in our ecosystems, emphasizing the impact of river pollution on climate change and advocating for universal access to clean, drinkable water.
Filmed on the banks of the Ganges and Mississippi rivers, Ganga features original Kathak choreography by KDT Artistic Director Rita Mustaphi, who will perform solo in this in-progress look. As portrayed through Kathak’s elegant lyricism, Ganga is a moving and powerful ode to these majestic rivers and an urgent call for their eternal preservation.
A full filmed performance, set to premiere this August, will include performances by KDT lead dancer/choreographer Rita Mustaphi with Company members Mukta Sathe and Madhulika Srikanth; live music by an ensemble that includes Praful Kelkar, Abhinav Sharma, Ritika Ganguly and Shinjan Sengupta; poetic and musical contributions by Sharon M. Day, the Executive Director of Indigenous Peoples Task Force; live vocals by One Voice Mixed Chorus Artistic Director Jane Ramseyer Miller, and more.
The work-in-progress premiered on June 25. Watch below!
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.